1. Are You Actually Liked, or just “Liked”?<br />Facebook’s “like” feature has become an important part of online marketing. Not only does it help to establish a brand presence on Facebook, but it also contributes towards search engine visibility. Bing is now incorporating Facebook “likes” into its social search results. The thought is that if your Facebook friends “like” something, there is a good chance that you will too. This has resulted in marketers trying everything possible to increase their “likes”. However, does a “like” mean that you are actually liked? Possibly not. A like could mean that the user has benefited from your products or services in the past and that they genuinely do like you. It could also mean that the user is thinking about using your products or services but that a true opinion hasn’t been formed yet. It could also mean that a user works for a competitor and is keeping tabs. It could even mean that a user simply clicked “like” because a friend “likes” you and they are trying to impress their friend. You never really know what’s behind that “like”. Besides getting “likes”, the right Facebook strategy should be to turn the “likes” into something more. <br />Businesses don’t just set up Facebook pages for fun. At least, they shouldn’t anyway. A business Facebook page should attract the attention of a target audience and provide them with useful content that will lead to eventual conversions. The goal should be to turn the “like” into like. <br />The challenge when using Facebook as a marketing tool is to break through the rest of the noise. It’s very possible that a member of your target audience that “likes” you also “likes” 20 other companies and has 500 friends. This means that it’s very likely that your message could easily get lost amongst all of the other information. It might even get ignored completely. Your post could show up in their newsfeed right below their best friends’ wedding pictures. Which post do you think that they will pay more attention to? That’s why it’s important to post content that will get you noticed in order to be liked.<br />The first step is to do some research on the target audience. What do they want to hear from you on Facebook? The key is to provide valuable content that breaks through the noise. This could be links to informative videos, articles, or blog posts. It could also be Facebook-fan only coupons or discount codes. Once you have established your Facebook reputation, it’s important to stay true to it. If your audience has grown accustomed to receiving coupons, you can’t just stop posting them. That’s why it’s extremely important from Day 1 to understand your brand and how that brand will be conveyed on Facebook, and in social media in general. <br />It’s also important to be consistent and personable on Facebook. Social media is about being social, which means that you should show some personality and interact with your target audience. Don’t just talk at them. Encourage them to ask questions or post comments or concerns and respond. A Facebook page should look like a community, not an advertisement. <br />About the Author:<br />Brick Marketing is a Boston SEO and SEM company that offers social media marketing management services. For more information please call 877-295-0620 or visit http://www.brickmarketing.com. <br />